


Reciprocal

by mylittlecthulhu (marineko)



Series: Mathematics of Love [3]
Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: AU, Ficlet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-08
Updated: 2011-02-08
Packaged: 2017-10-22 14:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/239226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marineko/pseuds/mylittlecthulhu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aiba thinks Nino is his best friend. Nino thinks not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reciprocal

The school he teaches is highly prestigious; he only needed to say the name, and girls would be all over him during  _goukon_ s. Not that he goes to those things anymore, but it definitely had helped, when he was still a student. Now, Nino is the youngest PhD-wielding faculty member in the school he’d practically grown up in (like Sho, he’s been in the same school since kindergarten), and he has a good chance of being the head of the Math & Sciences department, if only Matsuoka-sensei would hurry up and kick the bucket, already. Or get transferred. Nino supposes that he wouldn’t mind if the crazy old man transfers out.

“Thirteen years older than you isn’t  _old_ ,” Aiba says, and Nino is reminded of his original train of thought.

The thing is, he’s pretty proud to be part of such an awesomely great school. One that kids go through so much suffering for just to get in, and then uncomplainingly subject themselves to even more suffering at the hands of their (brilliant, almost godlike, really) teachers. But then Matsuoka, who really is too senile to be given the power over not just the college, but also the high school and junior high’s science departments, had to go and lose his marbles, and hire someone like Aiba Masaki.

“Aiba-san,” Nino said, with so much patience he thinks he should be given an award or something, “why are you here?”

“To see you, of course!” Aiba grin is so full of cheer and lightness and all things merry, that it makes Nino want to go out and kill something. Instead, he grunts and pays more attention to his lunch.

Aiba is nothing like Nino. He’s perpetually  _happy_ , which Nino equates to being perpetually idiotic. Sarcasm just goes right through him; either he doesn’t notice it, or he delights in it without seeming to notice that it’s directed towards  _him_. It’s insulting enough that Matsuoka had agreed to the hiring of Aiba to teach chemistry at the high school, but the fact that he blows up the lab in freak accidents every other week, and _still_  Matsuoka had advised Nino to be more like Aiba, who had students clamoring to take his classes every semester... well. That takes the cake. So students love Aiba, and are scared of him. So what? As far as he’s concerned, he isn’t doing his job unless he’s out terrifying students. 

“Aren’t you supposed to have lunch with Sho on Mondays?” The college and high school faculty members share a lounge and pantry, conveniently situated in between the main buildings for the two institutions. Aiba always sits with him on the days they had the same lunch period, peppering Nino with anecdotes about his “cute” students and his “super fun” experiments. On Mondays, though, Aiba would usually be directing his endless chats towards Sho.

“I saw him drive away with Jun when I was walking here. Guess they’re eating out?”

That catches Nino’s attention. Slowly looking up at Aiba, he notices that Aiba’s forehead is slightly creased in a frown, and the light in his eyes is just a little dimmed. “Oh, yeah,” he says casually, keeping his eye on the other man. “The two of them have been hanging out a lot lately. They won’t let me join them. It’s like they’re secretly dating, or something.” He rolls his eyes then, and laughs shortly, but Aiba doesn’t laugh with him, for once. 

He’s surprised that he feels a stab of sympathy and a desire to set things right. Most of all, though, he feels triumphant. Jun could plan and scheme all he wanted; Nino already knows the answer as to whether Sho’s feelings are reciprocated.


End file.
